Dr Derrick Binns - 37 Years Of Public Service

News Release: HAMILTON, Bermuda – The Head of the Public Service, Dr Derrick Binns, JP retires today, July 21st 2023, after a remarkable career spanning over three decades.

His journey in the public service began in 1986, as a Psychologist with the Department of Corrections, a post held by him for approximately ten years. During this time, on re-assignment, he also served as Transition Coordinator, and the Chair for the Inmates’ Programme Committee.

In 1996 he began working for National Drug Control as a Research Officer, and one year later he was appointed Chief Executive Officer where he served for four years.

From 2001 – 2013 he served as a Permanent Secretary to various ministries, starting with the Ministry of Health and Family Services, which he describes as his most challenging permanent secretary appointment: “It was a very large and complex Ministry. While trying to understand its many components and requirements, I was also trying to learn the role of Permanent Secretary,” he says in reflection on this initial appointment.

He held the post for two years, during which time he was also assigned to act as PS for the Ministry of Works and Engineering from December 2002-March 2004. This assignment was followed by the Ministry of Community and Cultural Affairs where he served from 2004-2006.
From 2006-2007 he was once again appointed Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Public Works, this time assuming the substantive role.
“I didn’t have any technical background in the areas for which the Ministry was responsible. But I was very interested in the work,” he says, describing the role as one of the most interesting assignments throughout his career in government.

He felt that his ability to bring a fresh perspective to the work proved helpful in this Ministry, and being able to measure progress more definitively was also a rewarding experience for him, he says: “The nature of the business was a significant change from my previous experiences. In the social services, it was more often difficult to see issues brought to conclusion. Public Works was quite the opposite. Projects were conceived, plans were produced, plans were executed, projects were completed.”